The State – 11/23/20

Lacie Hudson, Case deKoning

After a week on the run, an escaped Ingham County Jail inmate was captured Saturday.

Michael McKerchie escaped the jail Nov. 13 by dismantling a mattress and using the padding to look like a sleeping body. He disassembled a window to escape.

Upon his escape, McKerchie stole a blue-green pick-up truck. On Saturday, a local alerted police that McKerchie was leaving an Eaton Rapids convenience store in a pick-up truck. It is unclear if it was the same truck as before.

T he Eaton County Sheriff’s Deputies arrived to perimeter the cemetery area, already alerted that a truck had been stolen moments earlier.

The deputies then pursued and stopped the vehicle and McKerchie was taken into custody and transported to a hospital for evaluation.

He will now face several charges in Eaton County on top of the charges in Ingham County.

 

East Lansing Public Library will be closing its building temporarily starting last Friday due to the increasing spread of COVID-19 and the new emergency order implied by Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

The library was only open indoors for a little more than a month, after being closed until October 12.

Curbside pickup service will continue with extended hours Monday ­– Thursday and Saturdays. The Outdoor Locker System will be available 24/7 to pick up books on hold. For those uncomfortable leaving their homes, materials can be sent by mail.

 

Undergraduates that the university recently furloughed or terminated are now eligible to apply for a $50 Meijer gift card thanks to the passage of Bill 57-30 by the Associated Students of Michigan State University (ASMSU). The application opened on Friday, Nov. 13.

The program, which doesn’t affect a student’s financial aid, is targeted toward students that Residential and Hospitality Services laid off earlier this fall. Bill 57-30 allocated $33,000 of the ASMSU budget to go toward the creation of this fund. Later, the Office of the Provost pledged $15,000 and each class council pledged $500, bringing the total fund to $50,000.